Knives and Axes
by Enter-absurd-name
Summary: Throne of Glass AU. Astrid is an assassin. It's as simple as that. She kills people. Well, she used to. She survived a hellhole after being captured, and was offered what could be a life-changing opportunity. So what happens when she agrees to compete to become the king's champion? /Hiccstrid/
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys! This here, is my first fanfic. It is a Throne of Glass AU. Also, there is going to be a lot of blood in this story. That is something that you should keep in mind while reading this. But... all that said, I hope you enjoy!**

Sunlight shone dimly through the bars of Astrid's cell. Loud bells could be heard chiming outside in a violent way. Whips could also be heard along with a few cries of agony. Most likely the new prisoners that arrived yesterday. New prisoners were delivered almost every week. And almost every week, a few hundred of them died. New holes were dug almost every day so that the increasing amount of dead bodies could be buried.

Groaning, Astrid got up, the shackles on her wrists clinking and biting into her skin. She bit her lip and looked at her cracked nails. Walking over to the far wall that was cloaked in shadows, she groped for familiar scratches. Sighing, she dragged her thumb nail over a set of four scratches diagonally, essentially adding a new one. Staring at the wall, she sighed once again.

10 months. Almost a year. That's how long she'd survived in this hellhole. Most people barely survived a month before dying of dehydration, exhaustion, or blood loss from all the whippings they received throughout the day. But she was still alive. On the King's order's

Just then, she heard a pair of footsteps approaching her cramped cell. She froze and turned towards the door, lowering her head by instinct.

When she started walking towards the door, she hear a slightly nasal voice ask, "This is her?" She was confused, to say nonetheless, because none of the guards ever spoke to anyone, except to bark orders to them. Then, she heard the gruff voice of one of the guards outside her door say, "Yes."

Now, she was curious. Then she felt a harsh tug on her arm and was pulled out of her door.

"Follow me." said the same slightly nasal voice.

They started walking through corridors, up and down steps, and taking confusing sharp turns here and there. But Astrid knew what this man was doing. The set of stairs they were taking had already been visited by them twice before. She knew if she took a right and went down the set of stairs around the corner, she would find herself in front of the guards in front of the entrance/exit.

She smirked under her veil of dirty blonde hair. _Idiots,_ she thought. All this extra work had only helped her memorize these dark passages.

She looked up at her escorts face, and was surprised when his head snapped around to meet her gaze.

She gasped internally. He had stunning green eyes, that glew like emeralds on his pale, freckled face. He had tousled auburn hair that seemed to have natural shades of brown mixed in with them. He had a strong jaw on which a slight stubble could be seen, and firm lips that were pulled into a straight line.

His stare was intense, daring her to keep looking. But instead of doing that, she smiled her sweetest smile and asked him, "What's your name?"

Scowling, he turned his attention back to their path. She groaned.

"You know, dragging me somewhere without telling anyone is extremely suspicious. People could mistake your actions and think you're setting me free."

As soon as he heard her say that, he went slightly rigid. She knew the ways in and out of this place. She had noticed they had just passed a familiar door for the fourth time. _Enough fooling around, Hiccup._ He thought to himself. _It's obvious trying that trying to confuse her isn't working. She's an assassin for god's sake._ He gritted his teeth and started going the right way. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her smirking slightly.

Oh, he knew what she was playing at. She wanted answers. Of course.

"Unfortunately for you," he said quietly, "Everyone here knows who I am."

Before she could ask anything else, he snapped at her to shut up and opened a pair of great oak doors. Once inside, Astrid gasped quietly and her feet stopped moving. The walls were covered in gold and the pillars inside that were holding the roof were intricately carved. There were a few paintings around the massive room. But the thing that caught her attention the most was the royal figure perched upon a massive chair that looked like a throne.

He had been looking bored until they had arrived and he looked at them. A small smirk sported his lips as the auburn male began to drag the prisoner in front of him. Her escort bowed, as a show of respect. The figure, who Astrid assumed was probably the Crown Prince, nodded slightly, and then looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

He expected her to do the same. There was no way in hell she was going to bow down to this man. Suddenly, large hands could be felt on the back of her neck and arm, pushing her to the ground into a kneeling position.

"IS THAT ANYWAY TO RESPECT YOUR FUTURE KING?" A voice bellowed near her ear. Astrid cringed slightly as his hot breath hit her ear. It was unpleasant, to say the least.

"Though I do admire your loyalty, Duke Alvin, violence is not necessary. At this moment, I request you all to leave so that I can have a word with her." He said all this calmly, as though he paid no heed to her title that she had earned by killing by the young age of 11.

This angered her above all else. The duke reluctantly left the room, leaving the auburn-haired man standing with other guards at the other end of the room near the exit.

 _Fools!_ She thought. _Such complete fools! Leaving the heir to Berk undefended in her presence?_

She moved her wrists a little, and the heavy iron chains clinked softly. Just two simple moves and he'd be on the floor, her strangling him with these chains. She smirked slightly at the image. Then, she saw expensive boots in front of her. Slowly looking up, she saw the Heir grinning at her.

"Intelligent one I see." he remarked as he studied her dirty face and hair. She suddenly felt aware of her filthy state and felt the need to cringe at the thought of royalty seeing this part of her - the almost broken part.

"Whatever is going on with your pretty little mind there, needs to stop." he continued with his accented voice, "Because you, Astrid Hofferson, are being given a chance to earn your freedom."

And it was then that she snapped her hear towards him, azure eyes flashing with hope and desire. Slowly, he grinned.

 **So this is sorta how the actual book starts, and this story follows on the idea, though not on the plot. I hoped you enjoyed this! Oh, and BTW, there are going to be some slow updates.**


	2. Chapter 2

The Crown Prince's grin only grew bigger as her eyes became desperate now, almost in a pleading manner.

"My father has got it in his mind that he needs a champion. Someone who he can trust to be his knife when he is unable to do so himself." The crown prince was about to continue on when he was interrupted by Astrid's laugh.

Her, the king's champion? Oh gods above, it was hilarious.

"You want me to be the king's champion? Even if I do take you up on this offer, the fancy title isn't necessary. It is merely a fancy term for a killer... or rather, an assassin."

Astrid would've continued had it not been for the low growl of her escort, who stood at the back of the room with his hand on his sword.

"Show respect to your future king. He is speaking." Astrid scoffed. As if. "As I was saying," the prince carried on, "Yes, that is the case. But, this chance isn't being given to you. You will have to prove yourself to the king. You will be fighting for that title. My father has arranged a competition where you will stay at the castle while you fight. If you are ever disqualified, you will be brought back to where you were found."

Astrid now stared at him with a mixture of disbelief, disgust, and shock. Didn't the title of 'Berk's Assassin' mean anything to them? Just because she let her rage take over once. Nothing good came out of anger.

"I'm assuming with your silence, you accept this challenge?" The prince offered. Astrid nodded. She would once again show Berk why, exactly, they had feared her.

* * *

After that conversation, Astrid had been escorted to a different cell, and for the first time since she'd come to Outcast Island, she had been given decent food. Instead of water and a tiny piece of rock-hard bread she was given once every three days, she got a small amount of mead, a leg piece, and a decent sized bread. Not luxurious, but she'd take what she could get.

The new cell she had been taken to had a small, cracked mirror and a small bed. It looked comfortable, she supposed. It probably was. But she had been here for so long, that even though she had been pampered while she was Berk's assassin, even she had forgotten how sleeping in a bed felt like.

It was late at night and Astrid was standing in front of the mirror, looking at her reflection.

She sighed. Her hair was dirty and tangled. Her hands were calloused to the point where her skin felt hard as stone. Her face was caked with dirt and mud. Her fingernails were cracked and utterly ruined. In other words, she looked as if a tornado had hit her... multiple times.

Even her once bright blue eyes seemed to have lost their color. They gave of the illusion that they were almost grey.

She looked at the shackles around her wrists and ankles. She was stuck here because she had lost her control.

And because she had been foolish enough to listen to a stranger. Now her best friend was gone.

Astrid felt her knees collapse under her. She felt the cold, rough stone floor underneath her, not seconds later. Astrid curled in on herself as silent sobs racked her body. And like every other night since she was captured, Astrid cried herself to sleep.

* * *

Her cell door slammed open, causing her to look up. Standing at the door was the auburn male. Behind him were three girls and a few dozen guards. She smirked slightly. At least he had a brain.

He grabbed her arm and dragged her through the door. Keeping his hand on her arm, her led her through long passages and wide staircases. At some point, the scenery became less dirty and a bit more neat. Before long, they were in front of a room.

Inside was a bath with steaming water, and a cabinet. Laid out on a chair was a light blue tunic with grey leggings and boots. The auburn male grabbed her wrists, before scowling menacingly before removing her shackles. Before she could even make a move, she was grabbed by two of the three girls, and led to the bath. She was bathed to the point where she felt clean even on the inside. They had scrubbed her callouses and cleaned her hair.

They dressed her in the tunic, which looked surprisingly nice. The reason for that would've been because she would be arriving to Berk with the crown prince. Nonetheless, she felt somewhat like her old self again. She felt a bit more confident.

* * *

After the three girls had finished cleaning and dressing her, the auburn male had placed shackles on her wrists yet again.

And here she was thinking he would let it slip.

Seriously, she wasn't that suicidal. If his looks could kill, she'd be six feet under every time she received one of his glares.

"You know, I still don't know your name. If you're going to be cranky all the time you could at least do me the favor of telling me your name." Astrid said sweetly, looking up at him through her lashes.

She knew what men liked. She knew how to convince them, how to tempt them, how to avoid them. This was only part of the things she was taught along with ways to kill people. It usually worked, but she had never met anyone as stern and attentive as him before.

"You don't need to know what my name is. All you need to know is that if you ever want to earn your freedom, you're going to have to fight for it." He snapped as a response.

Astrid huffed slightly. She didn't know what she was expecting. She didn't even know why she was slightly disappointed. She should have been expecting that.

"Come on Hiccup, no need to be that uptight. Besides, she might as well know. She's going to be with us for a long time." Astrid looked behind her. It was the crown prince, striding up to her with his hands in his pockets.

"This here," he continued, gesturing to the auburn male, "Is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, otherwise known as the Captain of the Guard. And I am Eret, otherwise known as the crown prince of Berk." He swept her hand up in his, and bent down slightly to kiss it. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Astrid Hofferson."

She felt 'Hiccup' stiffen slightly beside her. Looking at Eret, she noticed he was wearing a grin.

"Pleasure to meet you too," she replied, mirroring his expression. He released her hand and strode off to where he came from.

She placed her hands on her hips and looked at Hiccup.

"Soo, Hiccup?"

He groaned in response.

 **Just to clear things up:**

 **Yes, I was considering to do Dorian!Hiccup but I didn't want Stoick to be evil. I'm only following part of the story-line for Throne of Glass, not all of it. It's messed up, I know. But, hey, lets set all that aside and continue to read other stories by awesome writers! (Like seriously, some people should not be able to write as well as they can. One time, I was up till 3 in the morning reading fanfics and clique novels. Not that I'm complaining. Cause I'm not.)**


	3. Chapter 3

For the past two days, they had been traveling on horseback through cities, towns, forests, and markets. Currently, they were packing up their camp that they had made last night. As soon as they were done, they started off again.

Astrid had learned quite a bit about her companions. Well, except for Hiccup. He always snarled, scowled, growled, and stayed in a crappy mood. Like, what did she ever do to him?

Eret was witty and charming. She could only imagine the number of courtiers that fell at his feet every day. She had also gotten to know a few of the guards.

Two of them were twins, their names being Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Apparently, they loved destruction and explosions. She could only hope they were joking (or psychotic) when they high-fived and laughed maniacally while recalling their past memories. But the cringes she received suggested otherwise. Even Hiccup cringed. Now that was saying something.

Another one of the guards was Dagur. He lived up to his name, that was for sure. He had an impressive aim - probably better than her. But he was psychotic, there was no arguing with that. Overall, Astrid had been surprised by how close they all seemed.

Like - as close as siblings. They had clearly been through a lot together. It was sweet. Must be nice to have people who care. Her family was dead. Her best friend was dead as well. Her life was hell. Yet, here she was, trying to fight for her freedom. It was ridiculous, really. Fighting for something that was almost non-existent. But it was worth a shot.

* * *

They were now standing in front of the giant castle. It was so enormous that it made Astrid feel significantly smaller. The moment when they had walked through the gates, her breath had been taken away.

The castle was beautiful, and even enchanting, in a special sort of way.

Huge flags with the symbol of a dragon could be seen on the towers. The dragon defined strength, power, and will. It was what had shaped this kingdom.

The castle on the inside was full of activity. From servants scuttling around to finely dressed people strolling through the gardens, it was full of life.

"And this is where we part ways, Astrid," Eret said quietly turning around, "Hiccup here will show you what needs to be done. Farewell for now," he said dramatically. Then, he grabbed her hand, smirking, and kissed it lightly. Astrid felt Hiccup stiffen beside her. She didn't have to look at him to be able to tell that he was probably glaring at Eret.

"Farewell, indeed," she said, smirking as well. Then, deciding to be bold, she leaned forward and pecked his cheek. Both of them knew it meant nothing. It was simply a form of entertainment for them - watching Hiccup get mad.

Eret simply nodded and turned, walking down a corridor with his hands in his pockets, whistling.

As soon as he was out of sight, she felt Hiccup grab her arm. Oh boy, maybe she shouldn't have done that. He started dragging her through hallways, staircases, and doors so fast, she couldn't keep track of where she was going. Finally, Hiccup shoved her into a room, closing the door behind him. He stalked towards her, glowering.

"What the hell was that?" he seethed.

"Just a friendly goodbye," she replied innocently. He started pacing, running a hand through his hair. She sighed.

"Look, it meant nothing okay? You should know by now. Other than the twins, you're practically our only source of entertainment," she said shrugging.

"Entertainment? Seriously? You came here to fight. Not to watch people get mad. And that's what you're going to do. You're not here to make friends. Get that in your mind, Astrid," he said, poking her head. She swatted his hand away.

"I think Eret forgot to mention how long I will be staying here," she said.

"You stay here for fourteen weeks. When you win and claim the title of being the King's champion, you work for him for five years." Astrid perked up at his choice of words.

"When I win?" she asked, curious.

"Yes, when. Eret has invested too much to get you from the salt mines. You have to win. And you will."

"And if I don't?"

"You lose your chance at freedom. Or did you forget why you're doing this?" Astrid froze at that. Ever since she had met him, he had been cold and scornful, though attentive. Did he really think she forgot about that? He sighed.

"Sit down," he said, gesturing to an armchair sitting in front of the fireplace. He sat down in front of her.

"There are a few things you should know about this competition. I know Eret already told you this, but you're going to listen to it again. Now, pay attention. There are 17 other people fighting for this title. Each contestant has one trainer. I, unfortunately, am your trainer. Each week, there will be a challenge, in which your instructor will decide which one of you will be eliminated. The challenges can range anywhere from running a race to trying to kill each other. The one that does the worst will be eliminated. At the end of the fourteen weeks, only four of you remain. You will be forced to fight in pairs at first, then the winners fight. The final winner become's the king's champion. And also, you will be competing against an alias. We cannot have people knowing you came out of the salt mines. As far as everyone else knows, you are Lady Alva. The other competitors also have no idea who you are. To them, you are a jewel thief who decided to go big but got caught."

"Any questions?" he finally asked. Astrid stared at him intensely.

"Have you and Eret lost your minds or do you plan on humiliating me? Jewel thief? Are you two seriously that desperate? Even the twins could've done better. To be honest, I am offended," she seethed, leaning forward to glare at him.

He simply leaned forward as well.

"It was the most simple explanation as to why no one had ever heard of you before. Now, any other questions?"

"Just one," Astrid said, looking around the room, "Is this my room?"

He sighed and shook his head playfully.

"Only you, Astrid. And no, this is my room."

Hiccup got up and opened the door. He lead them down the hall and opened another door.

"Now, this, is your room, Astrid," he said while opening the door.

* * *

 **OH MY MAPLE-SYRUP-COVERED-CHOCOLATE-CHIP PANCAKE STACK! Did you hear about the news?! They released a name for the third movie! Apparently, it's called How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. DUDE! THAT'S AWESOME! BUT... Toothless and Hiccup are going to be separated... for good. It's gonna leave me heartbroken.**

 **Oh, and, there's this weird issue with me not being able to update on one of my laptops so if I do update, it's probably going to be on Wattpad first. Idk why, but it's like that. My Wattpad account is literally the same thing (Enter-absurd-name). So now, you know where you can get faster updates.**

 **And if I do recall correctly, I said there would be slow updates. The main reason being I'm getting extra homework because of some nonsense logic that only my teachers can understand. But I do want to finish this before summer... though that's probably not possible.**

 **And thank you for all the support. I mean, a lot of you guys liked this. I expected like, 2 people... But, you guys are amazing! Thanks!**


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